Firebrick wall construction



Aug. 20, 1940. w. A. WAITE FIREBRICK WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed July 18,1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l j IT INVENTOR M a M W ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 20,1940 OFFICE 2,212,4r1w 1 v FmEBnicK WALL CQNSrrtUCTrON William A. Waite,Providence,- R. I. I Application July 18, 193 8,i fSerial 1N3. 219x19 12Claims. (01.- rag-n2) U attendee. getting the side viewthereof; and

YA present inventionrelates to furnace wall constructions, and hasparticular reference to a novel arrangement, of brick therefor. It isthe principal object of my invention to providea furnace wallconstruction designed to overcome mechanical failure due to expansion,and contraction strains on the inner lining of the wall. It; is anotherobject of my invention to provide a wallconstruction which resists thetendency of the inner lining brick courses to bend and buckle inwardlyand to'pull away from the portion ofthe wall.

A further object of my invention is to utilize theweight of the innerlining to press the inner lining, courses toward the outer portion.Still another object is to progressively transfer the-weight of thefurnace wall from the inner lining. to the cooler outer portion.

. -An additionalobject of myinvention is to pro-' videssimple andeffective provision for the uneven vertical expansion and contractionthat normally occursin a furnace wall.

1 A further object is to provide a wall construction" comprising aplurality of separate wall panels on the furnace face, each of which mayindependently expand andcontract and may be removed and replaced withminimum disturbance tothe a'djacent panels and the outer supportingwalla 1 With'the'above and other objects and advantageous features inview, my;,.invention consists of. a novel arrangement of parts morefully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, and more specifically defined in theappended claims.- I y 'In the drawings:

Fig.1 is an elevation of a furnace wall embody ing the novel invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section thereof;

--';Fig.-3 is a vertical section of a modified con-:

struction, designed for air cooling; I

Fig. 4a is a plan view of a standard header-used for the outer portion,Fig. 41) being a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 5a is a plan View of a header used for the inner lining, side Viewthereof;

6.0 is a plan view of another modifiedform o'f header, Fig. 6b being theside view thereof;

and Fig. 5b is a Figs. 7a and 7b are respectivelyv a plan view a; sideview of a stretcher;

J Fig. 8a is an end view of a special he'ader, F1g. 81; being the sideview thereof;

.Fig.' 9c is a plan view of a further modified form 1 cool-er outermodified form or Figs. l-Qc, and lOb are respectively a plan Viewand-aside view rof amodified form of stretcher.

One of the most difficult conditions to provide for .inlthez on tru ofeffect of-theviolently fluctuating expansion and contraction strains inthe hotter courses of brick o .the insidelining of the wall, thefirebrick being arelatively poor conductor of heat and the temperaturedropthrough the wall normally being veryusteep. ,Thus, eight hours ormore are required after a cold furnace is put into operation for thewall to heat up to the proper furnace temperature; ,conversely the hotexposed surface face cools off at a much faster rate than the interior.of thewall, when the furnace is shut down Since manyplants operate for apart only of each-gday, with, additional weakend shut downs, theexpansionand contraction strains, and particularly in thefurnace liningcourses, are very severe andresult in failure of the furnace walls dueto mechanicalfailure of the inside courses of brick. q

The verticaland horizontal expansion which periodicallygqocurs, in thehotter section of the wall produces-a very marked tendency for theinside-coursestobend orpull inwardly and so pull away-from the-coolerportion of the wall. The standard typeof firebrick construction relieson the weight of the superimposed wall to hold the inside courses .;tothe rest of the wall, it being standard practicegtmuse a strong bond ofoverlapping;headers. ;through the wall so as to progressivelywtransmitthe weight of the superimposed wall totheinherlining. This type ofconstruction-causes the .weight on the supporting headers to becomeprogressively greater in the lower portions of the wall, where thehighest temperature andthe most violent fluctuations of temperatureoccur, ithresultant violent expansion andcontraction. The supportingheaders normaly project half their length into the hottest zone of;the-walL-and the projecting half is thus heatedtoya high temperature andis forced to expand; upwardly before any material temperaoreover,noifsuitable provision can be cona furnace wall is the veniently madewith standard construction to relieve vertical expansion other than toleave the top of the Wall clear. There is an additional disadvantagewith standard constructions in that the refractory qualities offirebrick which are exposed to high temperatures decrease with increaseof the super-imposed load, wherefore the exposed brick in the lower partof the furnace Wall are subjected to the most unfavorable conditions,because they are subjected to the maximum load, to the highesttemperature, and to the greatest temperature range.

I have found it desirable to use a wall constructlon which moreeffectively meets these conditions, and thereby assures longer serviceand lower cost for repairs than it is possible to obtain with the use ofstandard brick, the construction being applicable to either nace wallsof any desired thickness. To this end, I provide special brick which hasthe same overall dimensions as standard firebrick, and occupies the samespace in the wall, so that it may be laid up in the Wall with a standardbrick backing by usual brick laying methods. 1

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1 to 3, the furnacewall construction includes a plurality of separate panel sections l5,Which are formed of special brick, the special brick being laid up withstandard brick which forms the outer wall portion I6. Each of thesepanels may independently expand both vertically and horizontally, thebrick being so arranged as to bond each panel independently to the outerportion of the wall so as to be independently supported thereby.

Standard brick, as illustrated as H in Figs. 4a and 4b are used to layup the outer portion of the wall, and the inner lining starts with abrick of the A type, indicated at l8 in Figs. 5a and 5b, half of whichlays up with the standard brick used in the outer portion of the wall. Bheaders, designated l 9 in Figs. 6a and 6b, then overlap the inclinedportions of the A headers, and C stretch- H ers such as illustrated at20 in Figs. 7a and 7b fit or nest together with the A and B headers.There are many possible combinations in which these three bricks can belayed up together, an illustrative combination being shown in Fig. 2,the essential features of the construction residing in the use ofinclined joints instead of horizontal joints on the headers between theinside courses of brick onthe furnace face. The joints on the furnaceface of the, wall may be changed at any point from horizontal toinclined and back to horizontal by the use of standard feather edges, aspecial feather edge header D illustrated at 25 in Figs. 8a and 8b beingpreferred to make a firm base for starting the change from hori-' zontalto inclined joints as shown in Fig. 2.

The above described construction locks the inner lining firmly to therest of the wall by its own weight, and at the same time relieves theinner lining from the progressively increasing weight of thesuperimposed wall. This relief is accomplished by the overlapping of Aand B headers so that the weight of the superimposed inner lining isprogressively transmitted through the inclined portion of the A headerbeneath, to the 'cooler outer part or section of the wall. Each courseof B headers, irrespective of, its position in the wall, thus supportsthe superimposed load of a relatively small number of courses ofstretchers. The exposed furnace face of the wall is therefore dividedinto separate horizontal panels, separated by expansion joints each selfsolid or air cooled fursupporting and each consisting of B headers and asmall number of superimposed courses of C stretchers. Although any angleof incline found desirable may be used, the preferred angleisapproximate1y30, more exactly 29 3', so as to provide bricks in whichthe rise is in the ratio of the thickness of a standard firebrick to itswidth.

The projecting portions of the A and B headers are. thus cantileverswhich each support a load uniformly distributed over its length, themaximum force acting vertically downward being exerted at the point ofsupport and diminishing to zero at the furnace face of the wall. Theload on each brick in the inner lining thus progressively falls and isnegligible at the hottest section nearest the face. Moreover, the weighton each successive brick is progressively reduced so that the topstretchers in any section on the exposed face support no load at all.

The above described construction has great advantages when compared withstandardfirebrick construction, as the load on the exposed face of thebrick at the lower, hotter half is very much less, and depends on thesmall number of brick in each pan-e1. The inclined arrangement of theinner lining provides a gravity load on theinner lining which tends topress the inner lining towards the outer wall portion, whereby abreakingof headers does not result in a separation of the inner lining, andinstead will cause the inner lining to settle on the panel-below and tohug the outer wall portion with aforce dependent on its Weight. Therelief of the super-imposed weight on the hot lining and the locking ofthe inner lining firmly tothe rest of the wall permits more effectiveprovision for expansionthan is intervals as required as illustrated inFig. 1. 7

Vertical expansion is provided for by leaving an open horizontal jointbeneath spaced courses of B headers, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, thedescribed arrangement in effect dividing the entire inner face of thewall into comparatively small rectangular panels which are selfsupported and are free to move both Vertically and horizontally as theyexpand and contract, independently of the adjacent panels.

The provision of separate panels facilitates the making of necessaryreplacements, as vany panels, including all of the supporting B headers,can be removed and replaced with a minimum of disturbance to the rest ofthe wall. The replacements require a minimum of new material .ascompared with those necessary to replace a bonded standard firebrickwall, which uses more header than stretcher courses on the furnace face.Instead of replacing all the headers, as is necessary when the face of astandard furnace wall is replaced, the novel construction only requiresa replacement of a large number of stretchers and a relatively smallnumber of head ers, thus lowering the cost of repairs. Q

The above described construction may also be applied 'to air cooledwalls which have lanes or channels behind thehot face through which airis passed to cool the refractories. The thickness of the wall in thistypeof constructionmust be reduced to a relatively thin section in orderto effectively lower t e temperature in the'heated portion. Thisrequires special steel supports for standard type walls,as a relativelythin section is too 2. weak to :carryi the superimposed. weight;moreover, the supporting steel work, and especially the hangers holdingzithe inner-lining, must be protected from high -temperatures, thusrequiring thick refractory? shapes to protect the hangers: Since :thenovel/construction heretofore dcscribedidivides-the inner lining:intoself supporting 1 sections which: do not .support substantialweight, thenovel construction may be readily adapted to air cooledwalls, the exposed face being thin enough toeffectively reduce-thetemperature onthe hotface-without requiring special supporting steelwork and vulnerable metalhangers." v

-Referring to-Fig. 3, theinner lining is "made up of special headers-El,as shown at 22 inFigs. 9a and 9b, and superimposed stretchersF,-designated 23 in Figsr la and-b, which are joined together asillustrated to provide air passages 'ly suitable for air cooling, asthe'E header which carries the stretcher load is very effectively aircooled. The brick in the exposed inner lining is also effectively aircooled, except the F stretcher at the top; this stretcher, however,carries no superimposed load. I

While I have described a specific constructional embodiment of myinvention, itis obvious that any change in size and shape of thefirebrick and in their arrangement, may be made to suit tions withoutdeparting from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined inthe appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a furnace wall construction, an outer section of standard brick,and an inner lining,

said inner lining having a plurality of headers bonded to said outersection, said headers having rhomboidal portions extendingfrom saidouter section, rhomboidal headers on said first headers and projectingtherefrom, and rhomboidal stretchers on said headers.

2. In a furnace wall construction, an outer section of standard brick,and an inner lining, said inner lining having a plurality of headersbonded to said outer section, said headers having rhomboidal portionsextending from said outer section, rhomboidal. headers onsaid firstheaders and projecting therefrom, and rhomboidal stretchers on saidheaders, the inner liningcomprising horizontal sections formed of setsof stretchers mounted on vertically spaced header courses, the sectionshaving horizontal expansion joints therebetween.

3. In a furnace wall construction, an outer section of standard brick,and an inner lining, said inner lining having a plurality of headersbonded to said outer section, said headers having rhomboidal portionsextending'from said outer section, rhomboidal headers on said firstheaders and projecting therefrom, and rhomboidal stretchers on saidheaders, the sections being divided into panels havingyertical expansionjoints therebetweenr e v 4. In a furnace wall construction; anoutersection of standard brick, and aninnerlining, said innerlininghaving a plurality. of headers bonded to said outer section, saidheadershaving rhomboidal portions extending from said outer-sec-= tion,rhomboidal headers .on-said' first headers and projecting therefrom,.,and 'rhomboidal stretchers on said second headers spaced from said outersection, whereby air passageways are provided between said lining andsaid outer section. I I

5. In a furnacewall construction, an outer.-

section of standard brick,- and' an innerlining, said inner lininghaving a plurality of headers bonded to said outersection, saidheaders-having rhomboidal portions extending from said: outer section,rhomboidalheaders on said first. head ers and projecting therefrom, andrhomboidal. stretchers on saidsecondheaders spaced from said outersection, whereby air passagewaysare;

provided between said lining and-.saidouter sec-. tion, the innerlining. comprising horizontal sec-.-= tions formed of sets of stretchersmounted on vertically spaced header courses, the sections havinghorizontal expansion joints therebe tween. 7

6. In a furnace wall construction, an outer section of standard brick,and an inner lining,

, said inner lining having a plurality of headers bonded to said outersection, said headers having rhomboidal portions extending from saidouter section, rhomboidal headers on said first. head-v ers andprojecting therefrom, and rhomboidal stretchers on said second headersspaced from said outer section, whereby air passageways are providedbetween said lining and said outer section, the sections being dividedinto panels having vertical expansion joints therebetween.

'7. In a furnace wall construction, an outer the requirements fdifferent furnace.instaua section of standard brick, and an innerlining,

said inner lining having a plurality of headers bonded to said outersection, said headers having rhomboidal portions extending from saidouter section, rhomboidal headers on said first headers and projectingtherefrom, and rhomboidal stretchers on said second headers spaced fromsaid outer section, whereby air passageways are provided between saidlining and said outer section, said second headers and said stretchershaving cooperating locking shoulders.

8. In a furnace wall construction, an outer section of standard brick,and an inner lining, said inner lining having a plurality of headersbonded to said outer section, said headers having rhomboidal portionsextending from said outer section, rhomboidal headers on said firstheaders and projecting therefrom, and rhomboidal stretchers on saidsecond headers spaced from said outer section, whereby airpassageways-are provided between said lining and said outer section, theinner lining comprising horizontal sections formed of setsof stretchersmounted on vertically spaced header courses, the sections havinghorizontal expansion joints therebetween, said second headers and saidstretchers having cooperating locking shoulders.

9. In a furnace wall construction, an outer section of standard brick,and an inner lining, said inner lining having a plurality of headersbonded to said outer section, said headers having rhomboidal portionsextending from said outer section, rhomboidal headers on said first iiiboidal stretcher's on :said second headers spaced from said outersection, whereby-air passageways are provided between said lining=andlsaid outer section, the sections 'being divided into panels havinvertical expansion joints therebetween, said second headers andsaid-stretchershaving cooperating locking shoulders. i

10. In a furnace-wall construction an-outer section, and an .innervlining, said inner lining comprising a plurality of headers bonded tosaid outer section and-having portions upwardly inclined with respectthereto, a plurality of'headers each mounted on the inclined portion ofone of said first-named headers and having the in- 3 ner ends thereoflocked to the outer section, and

stretchers similarly inclined and mounted on said headers. i.

11. In a furnace wall-construction, anouter section, and an innerlining, said'inner-lining comprising a plurality of. headers bondedtosaid outer section and having portions upwardly inv clined withrespect-thereto, a plurality of headers each mounted ontheinclinedportion of one of said first-named headers and having the inner ends'thereofilocked to the outer section and stretchers similarly inclinedand mounted onsaid headers; 2. .the' inner lining comprising horizontal'sections'formed. of sets .of stretchers mounted'uon vertically spacedheader courses, the sections havinghorizontal expansion jointstherebetween.

12,.In a-furnace wall: construction, an outersection;v and/an innerlining said inner lining comprising a-plurality bf headers bonded tosaid outer, section and having portions upwardly inclined-with respect"thereto, a plurality of head-v ers each mounted onthe inclinedportion'of one ofsaidmfirst named' headers and'having the inner endsthereof locked to the outer section,and

stretchers similarly; inclined and mounted on saidlheaders; the. innerlining comprising vertical sections formed .of sets. of. stretchersmounted-on vertically spaced'header courses, the sections having-vhorizontal expansion joints therebetw'een, the sections being dividedinto panelswhaving vertical expansion joints therebetween.- 7 I; WILLIAMA.-WAITE- 2

